fish behaviour?

[sophie]

I hope the crosspost is allowable; if not it was made with the best
possible intentions.

As a result of a cracked/leaking tank a week ago I had to transfer all
my fish to a much smaller tank for a couple of days and then into a new
non-leaking tank. I was a bit worried about the filter having died off
so initially I only transferred one of the goldfish and the minnows to
the bigger tank; when there had been no signs of a cycle and all the
water levels were fine I put the other two goldfish in this weekend. I
left the sucking loach/chinese algae eater in the small tank because his
behaviour in there but without the goldfish is so very different to the
way he behaves in with the other fish. (I know now that these aren't
recommended fish to put in with goldfish, but I didn't when I got
him...)

1) The goldfish are now behaving radically differently to the way they
behaved before. they used to be fairly independent, coming together
sometimes to play or feed, but now they are behaving as if they have
been attached together by a very short piece of elastic. They are also
occasionally hiding (in plants, behind bogwood, under the filter) - the
first time I caught them doing this I think they must have been sleeping
in amongst a plant in a corner low to the ground and I honestly thought
they were all dead or dying but as soon as I went to investigate I
obviously startled them and they zoomed off very quickly and disappeared
under the filter. They also sleep "shoulder to shoulder" in a line at
the bottom, all listing the same way. The behaviour is all actually very
attractive, but it's unusual - are they stressed or are they ok? water
parameters fine, the fish are still active and feeding (and chewing my
hands) but just all seem to want to occupy the same space at the same
time.

2) sucking loach - in with the other fish he spends most of the time
hiding or "grazing" along the gravel or the glass. In the small tank by
himself he often zooms up and down the glass (top to bottom or side to
side) at really genuinely ridiculous speeds; it's almost too fast to
watch. Is this normal or stressed? It's pretty tiring to watch! but I'm
wondering if he's now actually more secure than he was in with the
others, hence not hiding as much. The weird amphetamine-driven zooming
seems pretty odd, though...

Any opinions very welcome, and very gratefully received,
--
sophie

[Danya]

sophie > wrote in message >...
2) sucking loach - in with the other fish he spends most of the time
> hiding or "grazing" along the gravel or the glass. In the small tank by
> himself he often zooms up and down the glass (top to bottom or side to
> side) at really genuinely ridiculous speeds; it's almost too fast to
> watch. Is this normal or stressed? It's pretty tiring to watch! but I'm
> wondering if he's now actually more secure than he was in with the
> others, hence not hiding as much. The weird amphetamine-driven zooming
> seems pretty odd, though...
>
> Any opinions very welcome, and very gratefully received

my corydoras act this way all the time, they also sort of "cuddle"
while resting/sleeping like you said your goldfish were doing.

hmm guess that's more of a comment than something that could possibly
help. :) sorry, i'm pretty new to all of this, plus i don't have
coldwater fish either...

[johnhuddleston]

I had the same problem when moving my goldies to a pond from their tank,
they stick together like glue, i have 0 ammonia and nitrite, and the pond is
well cycled... i think it takes a while for them to relax into new
surroundings. i don`t know about sucking loach, but my weather loach seem to
relax wherever i put them... after 2 months of being in a pond my goldies
still feed and rest in unison, usually hiding under plants/roots... I think
its just natural behavior, slowly they are returning to their normal
behaviour, but i think it just takes time for fish used to one environment
to get used to another...

"sophie" > wrote in message
...
> I hope the crosspost is allowable; if not it was made with the best
> possible intentions.
>
> As a result of a cracked/leaking tank a week ago I had to transfer all
> my fish to a much smaller tank for a couple of days and then into a new
> non-leaking tank. I was a bit worried about the filter having died off
> so initially I only transferred one of the goldfish and the minnows to
> the bigger tank; when there had been no signs of a cycle and all the
> water levels were fine I put the other two goldfish in this weekend. I
> left the sucking loach/chinese algae eater in the small tank because his
> behaviour in there but without the goldfish is so very different to the
> way he behaves in with the other fish. (I know now that these aren't
> recommended fish to put in with goldfish, but I didn't when I got
> him...)
>
> 1) The goldfish are now behaving radically differently to the way they
> behaved before. they used to be fairly independent, coming together
> sometimes to play or feed, but now they are behaving as if they have
> been attached together by a very short piece of elastic. They are also
> occasionally hiding (in plants, behind bogwood, under the filter) - the
> first time I caught them doing this I think they must have been sleeping
> in amongst a plant in a corner low to the ground and I honestly thought
> they were all dead or dying but as soon as I went to investigate I
> obviously startled them and they zoomed off very quickly and disappeared
> under the filter. They also sleep "shoulder to shoulder" in a line at
> the bottom, all listing the same way. The behaviour is all actually very
> attractive, but it's unusual - are they stressed or are they ok? water
> parameters fine, the fish are still active and feeding (and chewing my
> hands) but just all seem to want to occupy the same space at the same
> time.
>
> 2) sucking loach - in with the other fish he spends most of the time
> hiding or "grazing" along the gravel or the glass. In the small tank by
> himself he often zooms up and down the glass (top to bottom or side to
> side) at really genuinely ridiculous speeds; it's almost too fast to
> watch. Is this normal or stressed? It's pretty tiring to watch! but I'm
> wondering if he's now actually more secure than he was in with the
> others, hence not hiding as much. The weird amphetamine-driven zooming
> seems pretty odd, though...
>
> Any opinions very welcome, and very gratefully received,
> --
> sophie

[sophie]

In message >,
johnhuddleston > writes
>I had the same problem when moving my goldies to a pond from their tank,
>they stick together like glue, i have 0 ammonia and nitrite, and the pond is
>well cycled... i think it takes a while for them to relax into new
>surroundings. i don`t know about sucking loach, but my weather loach seem to
>relax wherever i put them... after 2 months of being in a pond my goldies
>still feed and rest in unison, usually hiding under plants/roots... I think
>its just natural behavior, slowly they are returning to their normal
>behaviour, but i think it just takes time for fish used to one environment
>to get used to another...

(follow-up set)

Thanks, John! The gf are still bobbling along in a string and
occasionally on top of each other, it's a kind of extreme-seeming
version of schooling. The biggest (the one that was moved first by
herself) is the neediest and clingiest, but other than this they seem
fine.

The CAE isn't really a loach and wasn't the best choice for a community
tank but I didn't know then what I know now. I may well not return him
to the main tank, especially as I want a a couple of weather loach...
(can they move the stones fast enough to crack the tank? should I take
the stones out?)
>
>"sophie" > wrote in message
...
>> I hope the crosspost is allowable; if not it was made with the best
>> possible intentions.
>>
>> As a result of a cracked/leaking tank a week ago I had to transfer all
>> my fish to a much smaller tank for a couple of days and then into a new
>> non-leaking tank. I was a bit worried about the filter having died off
>> so initially I only transferred one of the goldfish and the minnows to
>> the bigger tank; when there had been no signs of a cycle and all the
>> water levels were fine I put the other two goldfish in this weekend. I
>> left the sucking loach/chinese algae eater in the small tank because his
>> behaviour in there but without the goldfish is so very different to the
>> way he behaves in with the other fish. (I know now that these aren't
>> recommended fish to put in with goldfish, but I didn't when I got
>> him...)
>>
>> 1) The goldfish are now behaving radically differently to the way they
>> behaved before. they used to be fairly independent, coming together
>> sometimes to play or feed, but now they are behaving as if they have
>> been attached together by a very short piece of elastic. They are also
>> occasionally hiding (in plants, behind bogwood, under the filter) - the
>> first time I caught them doing this I think they must have been sleeping
>> in amongst a plant in a corner low to the ground and I honestly thought
>> they were all dead or dying but as soon as I went to investigate I
>> obviously startled them and they zoomed off very quickly and disappeared
>> under the filter. They also sleep "shoulder to shoulder" in a line at
>> the bottom, all listing the same way. The behaviour is all actually very
>> attractive, but it's unusual - are they stressed or are they ok? water
>> parameters fine, the fish are still active and feeding (and chewing my
>> hands) but just all seem to want to occupy the same space at the same
>> time.
>>
>> 2) sucking loach - in with the other fish he spends most of the time
>> hiding or "grazing" along the gravel or the glass. In the small tank by
>> himself he often zooms up and down the glass (top to bottom or side to
>> side) at really genuinely ridiculous speeds; it's almost too fast to
>> watch. Is this normal or stressed? It's pretty tiring to watch! but I'm
>> wondering if he's now actually more secure than he was in with the
>> others, hence not hiding as much. The weird amphetamine-driven zooming
>> seems pretty odd, though...
>>
>> Any opinions very welcome, and very gratefully received,
>> --
>> sophie
>
>

--
sophie

[sophie]

In message >, Danya
> writes
>sophie > wrote in message
>...
>2) sucking loach - in with the other fish he spends most of the time
>> hiding or "grazing" along the gravel or the glass. In the small tank by
>> himself he often zooms up and down the glass (top to bottom or side to
>> side) at really genuinely ridiculous speeds; it's almost too fast to
>> watch. Is this normal or stressed? It's pretty tiring to watch! but I'm
>> wondering if he's now actually more secure than he was in with the
>> others, hence not hiding as much. The weird amphetamine-driven zooming
>> seems pretty odd, though...
>>
>> Any opinions very welcome, and very gratefully received
>
>my corydoras act this way all the time,

they're new to the tank, too, aren't they?

> they also sort of "cuddle"
>while resting/sleeping like you said your goldfish were doing.
>
>hmm guess that's more of a comment than something that could possibly
>help. :) sorry, i'm pretty new to all of this, plus i don't have
>coldwater fish either...

any input is welcome, thank you!

--
sophie